As ever#4 - As usual

[Words]

New thread!

And the first thing I thought odd, not having taken much interest in the run up to the royal wedding, was discovering that Harry had never met Meghan's father. They dated, became serious, got engaged, and he never met the father she lauded on social media
That does seem odd. This was before his 'selling out' a few weeks prior to the wedding. But somehow they had never met? Let's face it, neither had a 9-5 job with limited annual leave

It's all been discussed on here before, @Baital, but my own view is that it comes under the same "appearances" thing as social media

If someone's trying to present a certain image of themselves they're not likely to welcome others accessing info which might ruin it, and Thomas could perhaps have mentioned things which his daughter considered better unsaid

Meghan had spun Harry a yarn. Plus, what would look better in the Royal Chapel? Charles or Thomas Markle escorting you?

Marching your friend's stuff is normal on social media. Without the Royal titles there would be nothing to comment on. Once again, they need to pick, royal or celebrity. They were senior working royals so they don't have the luxury of being under the radar like Zara or Beatrice who were never senior.

Well, quite!

But prior to that, prior to the fairy tale wedding, prior to the accusations of bullying, racism etc when everything was apparently rosy, before Thomas Markle 'sold out'... he and Harry didn't meet.

He had done nothing wrong at that point. Meghan had posted about what a wonderful father he was, how he was always there for her and took her to her dance classes.

So why did she cut him off and not introduce him to the man she was getting serious with, and got engaged to?

That doesn't seem a normal view of relationships, where yes, family members aren't perfect (no major flaws, just common human failings) but we love them anyway.

Agreed.

I was responding to @Spectre8's post about it being normal to shed relationships.

Yes, it's not normal to shed that many.

As regards "
It's amazing to me that her fans don't object to the blatant falseness, fakeness etc. She presents a complete 'construct' to them and they seem to lap it up." You only have to look at the standard of the comments of praise on these clips to see the reality of the fans.

I'm guessing that Meghan had no use for her father - she had moved on, he was fat and white, he didn't fit " the image".

There are images to go either this but they seem very slow to load.

Well also the timeline is wrong. She didn't shed her father AFTER (because) he sold out to the media, she had already shed him before he did that.

This supposedly amazing and supportive father (her posts) never met the man she got serious with and engaged to. Why not? When there are no practical reasons (no money for long distance flights, no annual leave and need to keep a job)?

... prior to that, prior to the fairy tale wedding, prior to the accusations of bullying, racism etc when everything was apparently rosy, before Thomas Markle 'sold out'... he and Harry didn't meet
He had done nothing wrong at that point. Meghan had posted about what a wonderful father he was, how he was always there for her and took her to her dance classes

Very true, @Baital, but we might equally ask why nothing was said about how hideous many were towards Meghan, before the stage where they failed to get their own way over the ridiculous "manifesto"

As we've seen so often the story changes with whatever narrative they currently want to put across - and then some expect us to believe them

I think this is exactly what it was. She wanted the Prince of Wales walking her down the aisle. Her father was not part of the image she wanted to project to the world on her big day. And what Meghan wants, Meghan gets.

This is where Harry's emotional and intellectual limitations, to put it kindly, come in. A prospective bride who refuses to introduce you to her close family should set alarm bells ringing, even if you're just Harry who works in Tesco's. But when you're a very high profile member of the royal family, then you really need to know exactly who you are marrying. William warned him of course, but he didn't listen.

Precisely.

If there were so many broken relationships in my life I would start to look at the common denominator....

No they should be taught if a relationship is not healthy not to be forced to stick with it. That not everyone you meet is going to be a friend for life. You have work friends, friends who are your hbnby friends, close friends who you share all your personal life with etc. Some friendships just die out, some turn nasty and unhealthy and its important to recognise the difference.

I never said expendable or transactional ...those are your words.

The difficulty for the children will be understanding how they are estranged from a family that their father doesn't want to be estranged from. Harry made it abundantly clear he wants to be involved in Charles, William and his niece and nephew's lives. Are his families the ogres that deserved to be called out in the most public manner and if so why does he still crave a reconciliation and Meghan still correspond with Charles. Harry and Meghan protect themselves by only allowing those they can control to interview them. As the children get older unless they live an extremely sheltered life are going to be asked the questions that Meghan and Harry hide from. This is worse for Archie who most of the damaging accusations surround. He has to look forward to finding out that his grandfather believed he maybe to dark to be a prince. The choice of not believing your parents or believing that your granddad is that vile. That before you get to his drug taking, shagging in a field father.

And yet all their long term relationships fall into the category of 'unhealthy'?

There seems to be one common denominator.

And she was at the same time saying how wonderful her father was, and also not introducing her to the man she was planning to marry.

It doesn't add up

@Vespanest will the children likely rebel? Mustique with the cousins? Skiing with the cousins minus Mum & Dad? Olive branches this way? Louis close in age. Are the Royal kids close with Middleton cousins?

Was it everyone else’s fault that your family relationships broke down or was your mum the central figure in all of it.

I’d feel I’d really let my children and grandchildren down if I hadn’t been able to relate to/love my extended family and because of it they’d been deprived of being part of their cousin gang for example.

Families can be difficult to maneuver at times but when the chips are down, or great things are happening in the family, there’s absolutely nothing in the world like seeing a load of them coming towards you en-masse to be there for you.

For those interested I have answered my own question upthread via the medium of googling. Purely academic interest you understand 😂

From Newsweek
The show is scheduled to be released on March 4 at midnight on the West Coast, where Harry and Meghan live with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
That means it will be out at 3 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast and 8 a.m. in the U.K., which may be significant for the duchess as it means British news outlets, commentators and royal watchers will have a head start on reacting compared to more friendly American brands.
(Links from text - I didn't make them so. )

If I am honest I am not sure British commentators seeing it first will be such a big deal. Will it? Won't American commenters just call it as they see it. ? And if supportive give her a boost if British reviewers v critical. I think a lot of UK reviewers not hold back from criticism where they think it due but perhaps more even handed than might be feared by Meghan (a la Richard Osman and Marina ) Am I being hopelessly naive here.

Didn't Harry say, soon after their engagement, "the RF were the family Meghan never had", guess that family didn't last long either.

It's the strangest reversal and flip flopping of how they tried to present things, I think Harry really, really wanted to be part of the big family, which he genuinely seemed to love, until Meghan convinced him he was trapped. I would say it must be heartbreaking for him to be missing out now he has his own family.

Thank you for pointing out that I needed to click on the circle - I was proper confused! Blame me not @isaknowsbest , sorry to gave annoyed you @myrtleWilson but it was pure incompetence on my part 🤦🏻‍♀️

I know from Twitter that there are some who have been chosen to preview WLM on the Monday. So I'm guessing People will have an advanced screening. So the reviews will start filtering through before the British media.

Yes! I forgot about that! And she spent the Christmas before the wedding at Sandringham because she apparently had nowhere else to go? At the time I wondered what she had done in the past?
The RF absolutely dropped the ball on not insisting on getting to know her parents before the wedding and bringing them into the fold.